News
Non-bank firms to get China look-in
BEIJING - China plans to lower barriers to entering the country's interbank FX market to enable non-bank institutions to participate, said Wang Xiaoyi, deputy head of regulatory body, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe).
GS and MS lead in OTC commodities
GREENWICH, CT - Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the biggest players in the over-the-counter commodity derivatives market, according to research released last week (May 13).
Pakistan warns against FX speculation
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's finance minister, Muhammad Ishaq Dar, has warned of "stern action" against currency speculators.
More work needed on settlement risk
BASEL - Central banks are calling for more action to eliminate foreign exchange settlement risk, despite significant progress over recent years.
Cfets-CME partnership to aid China trade
BEIJING - The China Foreign Exchange Trade System (Cfets) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) are in the final stages of launching FX and interest rate futures trading in the Chinese market, said a senior official.
China's FX derivatives protocols 'must be clarified', say speakers
BEIJING - China's FX derivatives market must find a way to clarify differences and overlaps between the country's two major protocols on entering into derivatives transactions, said industry observers.
Russia frees up ruble float
MOSCOW - Russia has taken a further step towards a freely floating currency, abandoning its rigid intervention banding.
Fund managers negative about the euro
NEW YORK & LONDON - Fund managers are becoming increasingly negative on the euro, as concerns about inflation overtake worries about economic growth.
Senior changes at Citi and Credit Suisse
ZURICH & LONDON - Credit Suisse and Citi have made senior management changes in foreign exchange in Zurich and London, respectively.
New roadmap standardises messaging
GLOBAL - A group of financial market messaging organisations released details of an investment roadmap designed to standardise messaging use across the industry earlier this month.
ASP FFastFill to add forex support
LONDON - Application service provider (ASP) FFastfill expects to give its trading platform users expanded multi-asset strategies with the introduction of foreign exchange trading support within a few weeks, say vendor officials.
FSS suspends State St FX in South Korea
SEOUL - South Korea's financial regulator has suspended the FX business of State Street's Seoul branch for a month, following the discovery of violations to FX regulations.
US lets China off the hook
WASHINGTON, DC - The US Treasury has cleared China of manipulating its currency to gain unfair trade advantages against the US.
TD in Asia hub shake-up
SINGAPORE, SYDNEY & TORONTO - Toronto Dominion Securities has relocated its Asia foreign exchange and rates trading hub from Sydney to Singapore, in a move to boost its coverage of the emerging markets.
BBA considers changes to calculation of Libor
LONDON - Uncertainty over future methods of calculating Libor is causing volatility in dollar money markets.
Westpac/St George biggest bank in Oz
The proposed merger of St George and Westpac will create Australia's largest bank by market capitalisation, at approximately AUD$66 billion on a pro-forma basis.
Banks at odds over FX flows outlook
LONDON & PARIS - Major banks are at odds as to whether high foreign exchange volumes seen during the first quarter will continue into the rest of 2008.
More work needed on settlement risk
BASEL - Central banks are calling for more action to eliminate foreign exchange settlement risk, despite significant progress over recent years.
Asia's CMI prepared for crisis
MADRID - East Asian finance ministers agreed last week (May 5) to create a currency swap scheme of $80 billion in preparation for the possibility of a regional financial crisis.
StanChart moves Africa FX team to Dubai hub
LONDON & DUBAI - Standard Chartered is moving its offshore African foreign exchange trading desk from London to Dubai, as it continues to build operations in the Middle East.
Bear Stearns gets the axe
LONDON AND NEW YORK - JP Morgan has taken a hatchet to Bear Stearns' foreign exchange business in London and New York, with 62 of 73 positions set to be put on notice, according to a senior Bear Stearns official.